February 23, 2006
By Lucky Sindane
"I'VE been waiting long for this day," said an overwhelmed Norah Stewart as she was handed title deeds to her new house.
Stewart was one of 30 families to receive deeds from Johannesburg Executive Mayor Amos Masondo during a road show to Rabie Ridge Extension 2, Eldorado Park and Ennerdale on Tuesday, 21 February.
Accompanying the mayor was Strike Ralegoma, the mayoral committee member for housing.
Residents thronged to the various venues to await the announcements, many dismayed that only 10 houses were allocated in each suburb.
The hall in Rabie Ridge Ext 2 is packed
So far more than 300 families have benefited from the Regularisation and Transfer of Ownership (Retro) project. The initiative, launched in 2004, transfers ownership of council housing to the legal occupants.
"The Retro programme is intended to clear the challenges faced by the property transfer process, especially in the former [apartheid-era department of] own affairs areas," Masondo said.
"Critical to the success of this process was the increase of the subsidy amount available for transfer from R7 500 to R31 900 per household, which made it easier to affect the transfer," he added.
"It puts a smile on my face to know that the City of Johannesburg is fulfilling its commitment to sustainable human settlement."
He pointed out that sustainable settlement was not just about housing, but about providing secure and dignified residential environments. "To this end the City has transferred, and continues to transfer, thousands of title deeds to new owners who have occupied houses … for decades."
From hostels to family homes
Next stop on the road show was City Deep, for the official launch of a multimillion-rand redevelopment project.
Run by the Johannesburg Social Housing Company, the R68-million project will include converting hostels into affordable family units by the end of 2008.
The City's executive director for housing Uhuru Nene and Executive Mayor Amos Masondo inspect City Deep
"The City Deep redevelopment project is part of a bigger programme of restoring the dignity of our people," Masondo said.
"The City Deep hostel will receive a new facelift from a R8-million redevelopment project, which will see 123 units converted into family accommodation in the initial phase, which started on May 2005."
Phase two will provide 377 new and converted units and the third phase 300 new units.
"On completion of the project by 2008, 800 family units on this 12,5-hectare piece of land will have been developed at an estimated cost of R68-million," Masondo said.
The mixed-use development, comprising one-, two- and three-bedroom units, will accommodate hostel dwellers - mostly council workers - who have lived in the place for years.
"Hostel redevelopment means two things. For certain hostels it means first and foremost the provision of emergency services to address serious health and safety concerns," the mayor said.
"Second, it means the redevelopment of traditional dormitory-style complexes where large numbers of women or men are obliged to share cooking and ablution facilities and meagre storage."
Other hostels to be upgraded include Langlaagte, Orlando Ekhaya, Klipspruit and Selby.
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